I never saw myself baking full-time. It was always in my family—my great-grandmother, my great-aunts, grandmother, my own mother, etc. I was taught at an early age how to bake a cake, and it became a part of our family’s culture. Outside of the home kitchen growing up, I had little exposure to a...

Dig Inn Seasonal Market, a fast-casual, farm-to-counter concept based in New York City, received $15 million in funding to explore markets outside the city and to build its supply-chain infrastructure.
The restaurant’s founder, Adam Eskin, says expanding its 10-unit operation to new East Coast...

The South has risen.
With 20 entries on QSR’s Growth 40 report, an annual listing of the 40 U.S. markets best positioned for quick-service restaurant expansion, the South’s dominance shines from Florida to Texas and up to the Mason-Dixon line in markets big and small.
“The South is really driven by...

They’re made with just flour and water, but mixing these simple ingredients has created one of the world’s most popular foods. Noodles, from Italian pasta to all-American macaroni and cheese, and from Asian wheat or rice flour versions to those used for chicken noodle soup, are on the menus at...

What makes a really good noodle?
Pasta is an incredibly simple food—just wheat and water. So the quality and type of wheat are critical for the al dente texture and durability, as well as the flavor. At Barilla, we use hard durum semolina, sourcing the best from North America and all over the...

Fred “Pal” Barger has done a lot for his hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee.
The founder of the quick-service chain Pal’s Sudden Service recently donated more than $1 million to help build an athletic field house and scoreboard for his alma mater Dobyns-Bennett High School; to erect an automotive...

After outperforming Wall Street the past few years, the stock prices of restaurant companies with quick-service concepts finished a bit worse than the overall market in 2014.
Slightly more than half of limited-service dining companies’ stocks were bested by the Standard & Poor’s 500 index last...

Inexpensive. Nutritious. Filling. Easy to prepare. Easily transported. Delicious hot, cold, or at room temperature. Storable for years.
Other than noodles and pasta, the number of foods that meet all of these criteria is … well, zero, by my count. Perhaps that’s why these endlessly versatile...

Putting a new twist on a company classic, Whataburger's new Honey Mustard Whatachick'n Club is now available for a limited time. The perfectly balanced flavors feature a combination of the sweetness and tanginess found in Whataburger's Signature Honey Mustard.

Smoothie Factory Juice Bar, a leading retailer of real fruit smoothies, fresh cold-squeezed juices, and nutritional products, is now open near the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. This new location is part of a seven-store multi-unit development agreement with franchisee John Wilfert, of...

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) is recognizing the contributions of many dynamic women, who through their vision, hard work, and dedication, have achieved success in restaurants and made the industry a leader in the national economy.

Papa Murphy's Holdings Inc., the world's leading take 'n' bake pizza franchise, announces a new partnership with Nutritionix, the industry leader in interactive nutrition solutions. As the largest national pizza chain to partner with Nutritionix, Papa Murphy's has launched a mobile-friendly and...

Creamistry, a popular liquid nitrogen ice cream concept, announced its further expansion in the Southern California area with plans to open five new locations. Located in Beverly Hills, Mission Viejo, Rancho Cucamonga, and two in Costa Mesa, the new stores are expected to open throughout 2015....

Rita’s Franchise Company, the franchise company of the world’s largest Italian Ice concept, Rita’s Italian Ice, announced it completed a refinancing of the company’s debt with leading lenders SunTrust Bank and Spring Capital Partners. The refinancing comes on the heels of the company’s...

PizzaRev opened two franchise locations in San Diego earlier this month. The build-your-own artisanal pizza shops are located at Scripps Ranch and Carmel Valley. To mark its entrance into the communities, PizzaRev hosted grand opening fundraisers to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater...

Villa Enterprises, multi-brand restaurant operator and franchisor celebrating 50 years in business, announced Villa Italian Kitchen is now open with two new locations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). As part of ongoing efforts to provide world-class airport facilities to both passengers...

What can I possibly tell you about potatoes, dear quick-serve industry professional, that you don’t already know? It’s not as though you’re unacquainted with America’s favorite starch. You may even know that it’s the world’s fourth-largest food crop, trailing behind only rice, corn, and wheat,...

Though U.S. consumption is well below other proteins today, seafood will likely be an increasingly important part of the American diet in the years to come. The country’s population is predicted to grow by 89 million between 2010 and 2050 to 401 million people. More people require more food—and...

Like much of the rest of the economy, the 2008 economic meltdown brought a massive slow-down to the quick-service franchise industry. The combination of tightfisted money lenders and general economic uncertainty put franchise businesses in a near impossible position when it came to accessing...

When Lori Newcomb found out she had stage III ovarian cancer last year, she made it her mission to learn more about the disease and help other women fighting the same battle. She sat down with her husband, Chris Newcomb, cofounder and CEO of Southern quick-service chain Newk’s Eatery, and together...

Having started as a sandwich maker with Subway when he was 18 years old, Gurpreet Singh has spent nearly half his life in the quick-service industry. Now a Checkers franchisee, Singh has spent time in every quick-serve job imaginable: line worker, manager, general manager, and, today, franchisee....

While the fast-casual category continues to be the fastest-growing industry sector, the road in 2015 will be bumpy. We will see constant change and challenges around every corner. For industry leaders, there are issues that will keep even the most seasoned executive awake at night.
Here is my top...